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Multiple suspension noises

@Axles of Evil

Could also be the design of having the front drive shafts go through the engine casing on the AWD variety. Its that way to reduce the height of the motor so I have been told...but that is a lot of moving parts contained within a small space that do a lot of triaxial motion. Would be neat to confirm the 2WD's dont suffer from this, which perhaps could point to the current arrangement of the front end 4WD setup as containing the culprit. Seems like lots and lots of folks have looked and could not find it. We all know its there, but where?

I think you're on to something ;)
 



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The sound I'm hearing only occurs when I pass over rough spots in the road mostly at slower speeds, 25mph. Not on speed bumps or potholes. I can hear the sound when hitting a hard bump, like a joint in a freeway bridge, but at low speeds on rough spots it is easier to identify. It's not a rattle. It's a low frequency sound like something heavy that is loose.

Me too, but I don't need to go over rough spots. I can go over softer spots and still feel a sound from ABS that did not have it on previous generation. That video I posted has the same exact sound when he crosses those white line street divider lines and I even hear the same noise when going on an a little uneven pavement.

High way speed the ST is a beast. Can't even compare it almost any other vehicle.
 






What do you mean Dave?

@Forddealz,

OK - before I get into the meat & bones, I have to say that most every day I visit the 2020 forum, I'm left shaking my head in amazement with the roll out of the 6th generation Explorer.

As marketed, the 6th gen Explorer was supposed to be a grand-slam home run for the company that basically invented the mass-market SUV.

The past few years, Mrs FD has dropped the hint that maybe it was time to sell our 2nd Gen and get a 5th Gen. I've politely informed the Mrs. that the 5th Gen has a major engineering flaw in the Cyclone Series V-6 engines, specifically the internal water pump which in turn has generated a class action lawsuit against Ford. Therefore, the 5th Gen is a no-go, and I've been waiting patiently while saving $$$, witing for the roll out of the new Explorer, Bronco and Mini Bronco.

I really want FORD to make this one work, as well as the much anticipated Bronco and Mini-Bronco. BUT, so far, I don't feel it...

I'd like a 6 Cylinder AWD, but given all the problems I've read about, I've gone so far as to ask (to no avail) on this forum if anybody knows if the 4 Cylinder Eco Boost version utilizes the same AWD arrangement as the 6 Cylinder - specifically the routing of the AWD through the oil pan. I've even found myself thinking a compromise "maybe a RWD version of this Generation is the safest bet (mechanically)."

I agree with the mechanical and engineering points that @Axles of Evil has speculated and written about.

Axles of Evil has noted the Gen 6 front end AWD arrangement is subject to major rotational and axial forces, and it's packaged in a very confined space, subject to high radiant heat.

In addition to Axles of Evil mechanical evaluation, I feel that many problems experienced on this forum are somehow directly tied to a more-than-likely cut-throat business procurement case, rearing it's ugly head as the vehicle is now in mass production.

OK, so when the Explorer/Aviator test mules were driving all over the US, they were running on custom produced test-parts that were held to a very tight/close engineering spec. No doubt engineers were hand inspecting each part before signing off on it to be installed into a test mule.

My speculation is that due to Ford's constantly evolving cost cutting procurement methods, that in their actual Request For Proposal (RFP) for PRODUCTION parts, there was very little meat left on the bone to sub-suppliers.

Sub Supplier sales staff signed the contracts, BUT on their manufacturing floor, the tight specs of the parts that test mules tested on couldn't be replicated 100% of the time in the PRODUCTION parts without a sub-contractor going into the red (not making a profit).

Recently I had a 9 months stint at a local small size CNC manufacturing company. Their niche market is making small runs of custom parts from high dollar materials, utilizing expensive CNC tooling/cutting equipment that wears out a little bit each time a part was manufactured. Long story short, I witnessed, on quite a few occasions, the head machinist approve for shipment batches of finished parts that were just outside of the spec of what the customer specified.

The cash-flow situation at the company was such that the CNC tooling had to be used in excess of it's service life until the capital became available to replace it. So, the head machinists "fix" was that the slightly out of spec batches were set aside and gradually mixed in with batches of parts that met the specs... I imagine that something similar is occurring with Sub-Suppliers currently supplying parts for the Explorer...

I think that one of the lesson's that Ford is going to learn from the 2020 Explorer/Aviator is that when you build vehicles that are very complex, and have very tight engineering specs., you can't build them with parts negotiated like you're supplying a Wal-Mart with bicycles, jeans, fishing equipment, BBQ grills, etc...

Could also be the design of having the front drive shafts go through the engine casing on the AWD variety. Its that way to reduce the height of the motor so I have been told...but that is a lot of moving parts contained within a small space that do a lot of triaxial motion. Would be neat to confirm the 2WD's dont suffer from this, which perhaps could point to the current arrangement of the front end 4WD setup as containing the culprit. Seems like lots and lots of folks have looked and could not find it. We all know its there, but where?
 












@Forddealz,

OK - before I get into the meat & bones, I have to say that most every day I visit the 2020 forum, I'm left shaking my head in amazement with the roll out of the 6th generation Explorer.

As marketed, the 6th gen Explorer was supposed to be a grand-slam home run for the company that basically invented the mass-market SUV.

The past few years, Mrs FD has dropped the hint that maybe it was time to sell our 2nd Gen and get a 5th Gen. I've politely informed the Mrs. that the 5th Gen has a major engineering flaw in the Cyclone Series V-6 engines, specifically the internal water pump which in turn has generated a class action lawsuit against Ford. Therefore, the 5th Gen is a no-go, and I've been waiting patiently while saving $$$, witing for the roll out of the new Explorer, Bronco and Mini Bronco.

I really want FORD to make this one work, as well as the much anticipated Bronco and Mini-Bronco. BUT, so far, I don't feel it...

I'd like a 6 Cylinder AWD, but given all the problems I've read about, I've gone so far as to ask (to no avail) on this forum if anybody knows if the 4 Cylinder Eco Boost version utilizes the same AWD arrangement as the 6 Cylinder - specifically the routing of the AWD through the oil pan. I've even found myself thinking a compromise "maybe a RWD version of this Generation is the safest bet (mechanically)."

I agree with the mechanical and engineering points that @Axles of Evil has speculated and written about.

Axles of Evil has noted the Gen 6 front end AWD arrangement is subject to major rotational and axial forces, and it's packaged in a very confined space, subject to high radiant heat.

In addition to Axles of Evil mechanical evaluation, I feel that many problems experienced on this forum are somehow directly tied to a more-than-likely cut-throat business procurement case, rearing it's ugly head as the vehicle is now in mass production.

OK, so when the Explorer/Aviator test mules were driving all over the US, they were running on custom produced test-parts that were held to a very tight/close engineering spec. No doubt engineers were hand inspecting each part before signing off on it to be installed into a test mule.

My speculation is that due to Ford's constantly evolving cost cutting procurement methods, that in their actual Request For Proposal (RFP) for PRODUCTION parts, there was very little meat left on the bone to sub-suppliers.

Sub Supplier sales staff signed the contracts, BUT on their manufacturing floor, the tight specs of the parts that test mules tested on couldn't be replicated 100% of the time in the PRODUCTION parts without a sub-contractor going into the red (not making a profit).

Recently I had a 9 months stint at a local small size CNC manufacturing company. Their niche market is making small runs of custom parts from high dollar materials, utilizing expensive CNC tooling/cutting equipment that wears out a little bit each time a part was manufactured. Long story short, I witnessed, on quite a few occasions, the head machinist approve for shipment batches of finished parts that were just outside of the spec of what the customer specified.

The cash-flow situation at the company was such that the CNC tooling had to be used in excess of it's service life until the capital became available to replace it. So, the head machinists "fix" was that the slightly out of spec batches were set aside and gradually mixed in with batches of parts that met the specs... I imagine that something similar is occurring with Sub-Suppliers currently supplying parts for the Explorer...

I think that one of the lesson's that Ford is going to learn from the 2020 Explorer/Aviator is that when you build vehicles that are very complex, and have very tight engineering specs., you can't build them with parts negotiated like you're supplying a Wal-Mart with bicycles, jeans, fishing equipment, BBQ grills, etc...[/QUOT
Sooo much speculation in here.
WOW....TMI !
 






After reading all that I think i will have two glasses of wine or better yet the whole bottle.
 






In the meantime, Ford has no answer nor fix, shrugs it's shoulders, and buys 'em back so they aren't branded Lemons...
 






In the meantime, Ford has no answer nor fix, shrugs it's shoulders, and buys 'em back...
Well. I rather they buy it back and don't use me has a ginny pig and take the buy back to see what's wrong and fix the ones going forward.
 






Well. I rather they buy it back and don't use me has a ginny pig and take the buy back to see what's wrong and fix the ones going forward.

I’m in the same boat. Almost 2 weeks without so much as a call from the dealer where it’s being looked at, or from Ford. Just gonna wait this out I guess and let them have it back if that’s what it comes to.
 






Just sayin - within this thread, there's a misconception surrounding the initiation of a buyback process.

Buyback is a "push" process, as opposed to a "pull" process.

To clarify, the unhappy consumer notifies the Dealer that they're not happy with their faulty $60K Explorer, and thus they have contacted their State Consumer Protection Bureau and are in the process of opening a Lemon Law case against the Dealer.

This is the worst nightmare scenario for the Dealer, as a Lemon Law Branded Explorer will drop in value approximately 50% of sticker price, and will likely have be re-sold at a Wholesale Auction.

So, a dealer usually sucks it in, and makes a self-preservation business decision; buying back the faulty Explorer, hoping they can fix it, and then make up their loss by selling the "Buyback" branded title Explorer to a high credit risk customer...
 






Just sayin - within this thread, there's a misconception surrounding the initiation of a buyback process.

Buyback is a "push" process, as opposed to a "pull" process.

To clarify, the unhappy consumer notifies the Dealer that they're not happy with their faulty $60K Explorer, and thus they have contacted their State Consumer Protection Bureau and are in the process of opening a Lemon Law case against the Dealer.

This is the worst nightmare scenario for the Dealer, as a Lemon Law Branded Explorer will drop in value approximately 50% of sticker price, and will likely have be re-sold at a Wholesale Auction.

So, a dealer usually sucks it in, and makes a self-preservation business decision; buying back the faulty Explorer, hoping they can fix it, and then make up their loss by selling the "Buyback" branded title Explorer to a high credit risk customer...


I should have clarified my "wait it out" comment. I actually meant wait until enough time has passed to qualify for a repurchase (or the lemon law). Ironically, our Explorer ST is the replacement for our 2019 Traverse which was repurchased by General Motors after a transmission failure, ECM failure, and brake system failure (twice). GM initiated the repurchase, not us, so apparently it can work the other way. We didn't initiate anything other than telling GM we didn't feel safe in the vehicle any longer. Obviously there were serious safety issues at hand there, so it's a bit of a different set of circumstances. We love the ST and hope it doesn't come to this again. It's a lengthy process and would force us to find yet another vehicle.
 






Just sayin - within this thread, there's a misconception surrounding the initiation of a buyback process.

Buyback is a "push" process, as opposed to a "pull" process.

To clarify, the unhappy consumer notifies the Dealer that they're not happy with their faulty $60K Explorer, and thus they have contacted their State Consumer Protection Bureau and are in the process of opening a Lemon Law case against the Dealer.

This is the worst nightmare scenario for the Dealer, as a Lemon Law Branded Explorer will drop in value approximately 50% of sticker price, and will likely have be re-sold at a Wholesale Auction.

So, a dealer usually sucks it in, and makes a self-preservation business decision; buying back the faulty Explorer, hoping they can fix it, and then make up their loss by selling the "Buyback" branded title Explorer to a high credit risk customer...
I'm guessing that you mean FORD when you say dealer. I'm quite sure that it is Ford and not the dealer that has the 'say' in these matters.

Peter
 






Update...after 2 weeks in the shop (the second time for my clunking issue), Ford has directed the dealer to replace both struts. I’ve read that others have tried the same with no improvement in the noise, so I’m not exactly holding my breath. Should be done tomorrow, and after I pick it up, I will run a quick test drive and head straight back to the dealer if not fixed. More to come.
 






Update...after 2 weeks in the shop (the second time for my clunking issue), Ford has directed the dealer to replace both struts. I’ve read that others have tried the same with no improvement in the noise, so I’m not exactly holding my breath. Should be done tomorrow, and after I pick it up, I will run a quick test drive and head straight back to the dealer if not fixed. More to come.

Why isn't the dealer test driving and confirming? Why waste a trip there? Let them test it and see if it is still happening so they can report it.
 






Why isn't the dealer test driving and confirming? Why waste a trip there? Let them test it and see if it is still happening so they can report it.
I’m sure they will let me know if they continue to hear it, and won’t have me stop in if that’s the case. The only way they will let me have it is if they feel it’s been resolved, which I want to verify.
 






Update...after 2 weeks in the shop (the second time for my clunking issue), Ford has directed the dealer to replace both struts. I’ve read that others have tried the same with no improvement in the noise, so I’m not exactly holding my breath. Should be done tomorrow, and after I pick it up, I will run a quick test drive and head straight back to the dealer if not fixed. More to come.
Update...dealer replaced both front struts, test drove, and said they could no longer hear the noise. Picked up the vehicle and drove home, only to hear the EXACT same clunking noise. Called dealer and talked to the service manager, who plans on calling into Ford tomorrow. Now standing at 2 trips to the service department for a total of 16 days without the vehicle for this issue.
 






Others have reported the same, no change after strut replacement. Still not sure what the clink noise sounds like or how bad it is.
 






My Platinum also has the front end noise. I have 2500 miles on it now. It is apparent at slow speeds on bumpy roads. Front end, struts or something low in front end. I am a test driver for a Cadillac dealer and am very sensitive to noises and their sources usually. Going to dealer at first opportunity for recall and front end noise. Also my defrosters did a lousy job during our first cold spell at clearing windows of fog. that problem was a one time only, and attributed to off gassing from being new. Cleaned windshield with Plexus and have had no further problems. Will keep you all up to date with what is found.
 



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Others have reported the same, no change after strut replacement. Still not sure what the clink noise sounds like or how bad it is.
It’s somewhat subtle, but once you hear it, you will always hear it. Hollow, thudding, clunking noise at very low speeds on uneven or slightly bumpy roads. Hard to think of a noise to compare it to.
 






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